Your Honor (2020) s01e09 Episode Script

1
Previously on Your Honor
I am 100% emotionally involved
in getting this brute
of a human being
convicted of this murder.
[Jimmy] She's tearing him apart
in there,
and you're letting it
fucking happen.
I'm watching my son
heading for death row!
Counselor, we don't need
to go here.
I think the jury has seen
all that they need to see.
See you at school.
Wait
- [Jimmy] So who is this guy?
- [Fia] He's great.
Adam.
Adam That's it?
[Fia] I don't know that much
about him.
I've never seen these.
They were in Mom's Leica.
It's her last photographs.
[Nancy] These are all
Desire gang members.
We-we know all of them
but this one.
I think she was in trouble,
and she knew it.
Let me find this man.
What's up, prison shit?
Heart-to-heart I had with
that fuck that killed Rocco.
How's his heart?
[Carlo]
Stopped. And his head?
Cracked open like
a fuckin' watermelon.
[Nancy] Carlo Baxter,
you're under arrest.
- For what?
- You have the right
- to remain silent.
- For what?!
intriguing music ♪
[birds chirping]
[train horn blaring]
[rock music playing]
- [grunting]
- [thudding]
[man] He's upstairs!
suspenseful music ♪
Oh, damn!
[loud snap]
[crying out]
[grunting]
[man] Hey there!
[horn honks]
[grunting]
[Joey] I need immunity.
Well, that's not how this works.
You need to convince me
immunity is something
you deserve,
and I'll see what I can do.
[breathing heavily]
I-I really don't
have time for this.
I can't fucking run anymore!
I've been hiding out
three months.
I'm out of money,
out of drugs
and this morning they found me.
[Nancy]
Who are you running from?
You know who I'm running from.
We need to hear you say it.
Give me the words, Joey.
Jimmy Baxter.
Carlo gets arrested
for murder,
and Jimmy comes after you. Why?
There may have been
some fentanyl. Okay?
A side deal
behind Jimmy's back.
Hence the one-fifty on Carlo.
This isn't a trial
about drugs.
This is a murder trial
that resumes in 15 minutes,
so if you have something
to say to me,
I need to hear it
right this second.
Carlo bragged about
killing Kofi.
He told me that the kid
came to his cell,
and he split his head open
like a watermelon.
His words?
The watermelon?
- His words.
- What else?
Gina.
- Carlo's mom.
- What about her?
She made sure Carlo got
to OPP that night.
She used me to help with that.
Gina Baxter pulled the strings
on the whole thing.
Look. I know a lot more
than just this trial.
So give me a good fucking deal
'cause this is just the start.
[pained breaths]
You want me
to have him cleaned up?
No. Leave him exactly
as he is.
He's the real deal.
I want the jury to smell
the fear coming off him.
What's his name?
Joey Maldini.
This is outrageous, Your Honor.
Outrageous.
This witness is not on the list.
There's no mention of him
in discovery, nothing.
[Fiona] He just walked into
a police station two hours ago.
I am sorry if this is
less than ideal for the defense.
[Zander]
Yeah, less than ideal for us.
You're damn right it's
less than ideal for us.
But it is ideal for them.
This surprise witness
just-just shows up
out of nowhere, ambushing us
Are you suggesting that I knew
about this witness and held onto him?
- Yes.
- That I would risk my entire career
- just to jump you with this?
- Oh, give me
- Did I push him out a second-story window?
- Fuck.
- Did I break his ankle for him?
- Ms. McKee, please!
Fine, I'll give him
the benefit of the doubt.
He's making wild accusations
because he knows this witness kills him.
That's why you need
to let Joey testify.
Listen, I want both of you
to go back to your corners,
take a couple minutes
and calm down.
And then I want to know exactly
what Maldini is going to say.
Ms. McKee.
Who's looking after
your witness now?
NOLA PD, Your Honor.
I want him put
in courthouse custody
- while I make a decision.
- Okay.
[Fia] I love this one.
This guy's pretty cool.
- I feel like you could stop on every page.
- Yeah.
- Wow, this one.
- Mm-hmm.
- Yeah
- Here.
A present.
Two presents.
Oh. [laughs] Why two?
For Infinite Jest.
You need two.
You need one for the main text,
and then one for the footnotes.
Once you're in, you probably
won't want to see me.
It makes a hermit
of every reader.
Adam
[Frannie]
God, I love seeing my students
learning in the wild. [laughs]
Oh, sorry, Frannie.
Adam's photography teacher.
- Oh, hi. Fia.
- Hi.
All his favorite photographers
are women.
And of them all,
probably Vivian.
Right, Adam?
Yeah.
I love Vivian Maier.
I mean, I really love her.
But not as much as
I love your shoes.
Oh. Uh, yeah, thanks.
Actually, why do people
say thank you
when someone says they like
what you're wearing? I mean,
it's not like I made these
myself or anything.
[Frannie] Yeah,
but you-you chose them, right?
And when it comes down to it,
the choices we make
Well, anyway,
it was really nice to meet you.
Fia, right?
- Such a pretty name.
- Thank you.
- Short for Sofia?
- Yes.
- Italian?
- Yeah, on my Mom's side.
- Dad's side?
- Scottish. Baxter.
Baxter
- as in the hotel in the Quarter?
- Mm-hmm.
Oh Well, I should get going.
School.
- It was a pleasure, Fia.
- Thank you.
[phone ringing]
Costello here.
Are you sure?
Okay.
No, that's it.
[Michael] I know that Robin
was having an affair.
I Not the details, but
I knew.
- Christ, you knew?!
- Yes.
And you didn't tell us?
This guy's a prime suspect
in your wife's murder.
What the hell
were you thinking?
Adam.
Adam doesn't know.
W Okay, well,
you have to tell him.
Nancy, his mother
was a wonderful woman.
And he has nothing
but great memories of her
and-and who she was.
I don't want to destroy that.
- So what are you saying?
- I need to get this trial over,
and-and when it is,
I can get my life back.
But I cannot cope now.
Don't ask me to do it. Please.
[Nancy]
This is a hotel.
Right.
Paid with cash.
In a fake name.
[whispers] I see.
Robin was
Yeah.
Wow.
- God.
- I'm sorry.
[sniffles]
Doing your job.
melancholy music ♪
- Michael?
- He knows.
And Adam?
Does he have to know?
It's gonna come out.
You're asking me to tell him.
[Fiona] Joey Maldini
connects all the dots.
Corroborates every aspect
of the prosecution's case
and puts a skewer
right through the heart
of the whole self-defense idea.
He tells us
Carlo confesses to him,
he tells us
Gina was instrumental
in getting Carlo moved to OPP.
[Zander]
Gina Baxter isn't on trial.
- [Fiona] She might be soon.
- Oh, God.
[Fiona] Look, this trial is
about a single moment in a cell
and what was in the minds
of two men in that moment.
But we can't know what that was
unless we look
at the broader context.
- Joey gives us the whole story.
- [Zander] Prejudice massively
outweighs the probative value
of this witness, Your Honor.
He means he's going down
and he doesn't like it.
slow, suspenseful music ♪
[seatbelt clicks]
[car doors open]
[whispers]
Okay, that's
[Jimmy]
He knows Kofi wasn't driving.
My guess is that Joey would want
to talk about that on the stand,
how the victim didn't do
what everybody thinks he did.
And maybe then people start
looking for who was driving.
Why were you down here that day?
My wife was murdered
near here a year ago.
It was the anniversary, so I
I wanted to
I needed to be there.
Was he dead when you left him?
- Yes.
- Don't lie to me.
He was dead.
Let me ask you something.
Do you wake up
screaming in the night
because you killed
a 17-year-old boy?
Yes.
Good.
Look at me.
My family's not losing
another child.
There's nothing
I wouldn't do. Nothing.
So if you don't like it,
I really don't give a fuck.
And if there's trial fallout?
Well, that's your department,
isn't it?
[Frankie]
Joey's a junkie.
He'll just be stepping off
a little early.
We're not asking
for your permission.
We're telling you to set it up.
When we go back into court,
I will rule that the witness
can testify.
You
you have Johnny Zander
ask for a recess
until tomorrow
to prepare for cross.
It'd be a fair request,
and I'll grant it.
You'll have the night.
How you get to him
well, that's your department,
isn't it?
[indistinct chatter]
Hey.
You're vaping just like
the kids, huh?
It's a terrible habit.
- Nothing illegal?
- [chuckles]
You know, I-I hear that
Joey Maldini has a drug problem.
I mean, angel from heaven
and everything,
but still a little fucked up?
- He's hanging in there.
- Oh.
Okay.
Is it just the murder,
or is he swimming deep enough
to reveal the whole iceberg?
I mean, no one's gonna get
in Fiona McKee's way now.
You know? We figure
let her win this one,
then we'll get him talking
about the rest.
Obviously, Special Crimes
is a little overexcited.
But this should be you, right?
Fiona said he came to you.
You're the one
who got him talking.
[Nancy inhales]
Don't sell yourself short,
Nancy.
Or else some big, dumb
slab of beef
will be stealing
the career-defining case
you could've made.
I mean, this is yours.
It's big.
Listen, if it ever starts to
feel like it's getting too big,
and you need someone
to talk to about this,
Cusack, whatever,
I'm here.
Thanks.
I've got to sort through
a couple things.
See you.
[engine starts]
Hey.
Think I'm not watching?
I see you.
Excuse me?
I want you to stay away
from them.
Michael, Adam.
sinister, atmospheric music ♪
Adam?
Don't pretend you don't know
who I'm talking about.
You fuck with him,
you fuck with me.
Adam?
[Django whining]
[Eugene]
Did the count.
$9,310.
Well, ain't we showing
initiative?
I'm good with money.
Ask Little Mo.
Even had a teacher tell me I got
a facility for the numbers.
A facility? [laughs]
[music playing over radio]
So bad at math I'm good at it.
How that work?
Uh, you can't do that shit
on paper,
so you got to do it
in your head.
Keep doing it in your head
over and over,
the better you get.
That be the equation,
you feel me?
Who's that
motherfucking scientist?
The wheelchair dude,
with the voice.
Stephen Hawking.
Yeah, we got our own
Stephen motherfucking Hawking
in the Lower Nine.
[laughs]
[Eugene] I-I thought I could do,
like, payroll
or help build the bank.
You can have
that no-good half of a man ♪
But please ♪
Don't mess with my man ♪
[music stops]
Build the bank how?
You ever think about using
the church to clean money?
Like the one down on Caffin
that need a new roof?
You give them a cash loan,
help them fix it up.
Then they issue you back
a legit check.
There's a lot of churches
that need help down here.
This might be
the hardest decision
I've ever had to make
as a judge.
I've listened to both sides'
arguments with great care,
but there's one more thing that
I need to know before I decide.
Joey Maldini is struggling
with drug withdrawal,
and I need to know for myself
that he's up to this.
I've taken a good look at that,
Your Honor.
He'll be fine.
But as I said, Ms. McKee,
I'd like to see that for myself.
Unless there's a problem.
No?
Good. All right.
[clears throat]
Uh, no, no, no.
Just-just Alan in chambers,
if you don't mind.
Let's keep
our social distancing, huh?
Thank you.
- [door closes]
- [exhales]
Well, I'm Michael Desiato.
I'm presiding over this trial.
You, uh, look a little nervous,
young man.
Wouldn't you be?
[exhales] Yeah.
I'll let you in on
a little secret. I Oh, Alan.
Would you get Mr. Maldini
a glass, please?
I get nervous, too.
- Always have.
- [Alan] Here you go.
Ah, thank you.
So I had to come up
with a strategy
in order to deal with it.
Are you familiar
with W.H. Auden, the poet?
"Thousands have lived
without love,
not one without water."
So, when I feel overwhelmed,
or if I feel
I'm heading that way,
I just take a moment, breathe
and take a sip of water.
[sighs] God.
They can't get
your boot back on, huh?
Hey, you know what?
You look to be about my size.
- Let me, uh
- [clears throat]
Let me tell you what to expect.
Now
you'll hear your name called
and you'll come on up
to the stand.
There you go.
And you'll swear on the Bible
to tell the truth
and then sit down,
at which point, if you just
just look at me, okay?
That way you don't have to see
the people in the court
who really don't like
what you're doing.
Here, let's try this.
Take it, careful,
careful, careful.
[grunts]
Okay.
[groans]
- [wails]
- [Michael] Yeah. That's it.
[panting]
So, at that point,
it's just a conversation
between you and me, all right?
One-on-one.
And you'll be fine.
I'm ready to rule on this.
I'm going to grant
the state's application
to call Joey Maldini.
Your Honor,
the defense requests a recess
until tomorrow
so we can prepare for cross.
No. The witness is ready now.
dark, suspenseful music ♪
[Fiona] I think
we all saw you limping.
I broke my ankle.
How?
Jumping out
a second-story window.
When?
A few hours ago.
Why did you do that?
[Joey]
To get away from some people.
What people?
People who want me dead.
- Who?
- Objection, Your Honor, th
I withdraw the question.
Do you know the accused?
[panting]
He's my best friend.
[Fiona]
How did you two first meet?
[Joey]
Me and Carlo came up together.
Can't remember if we first met
at kindergarten or first grade,
but he was, like, my bro.
My family's fucked up and
- oh, shit, am I not supposed to swear?
- You're doing just fine.
[exhales]
[exhales]
[Joey clears throat]
Uh, yeah, so
the Baxters kind of took me in.
They were a good family,
they, um,
always had food in the fridge.
And, uh leftovers
in little plastic containers
with, uh, labels on them
so you'd know what's in them.
[gulps] Like risotto.
Or mac and cheese.
And name-brand soda.
[Fiona]
So you two stayed close?
[Joey] Absolutely.
[Fiona] But here you are
testifying against him.
[clears throat]
Um
Where I come from,
you don't snitch.
You just don't, but
- I can't keep living like this.
- [Fiona] Like what?
dark, suspenseful music ♪
Like what?
I loved the Baxters
like my family.
But when your own family
Objection. The Baxter family
is not on trial here.
[Fiona] The witness can't
testify to the narrower facts
if he doesn't put them
in their proper perspective.
If Mr. Zander's gonna have
a problem with that
You may have bigger problems,
Ms. McKee.
Let's-let's get this man
some medical attention, please?
Release the jury.
[grunts]
Call the EMTs.
intense, pulsing music ♪
Ladies and gentlemen,
I owe you an apology.
I thought that I had made sure
that the witness
was well enough to testify.
But I was wrong.
I made a mistake.
So I'm afraid you'll have
to disregard
everything
that Mr. Maldini said.
His credibility is questionable,
but what really matters
is that the defense
wasn't able
to cross-examine him,
so everything he's said
hasn't been tested,
and that is what is really
unfair to the accused.
So get rid
of the entire idea of him
from your minds.
For our purposes,
Joey Maldini never existed.
[whispering indistinctly]
slow, contemplative music ♪
I'm-a break you off,
let me be your motivation ♪
- Yeah!
- [laughter]
Baby, turn around, let me
give you innovation, hey ♪
[imitates siren]
You got that good-good,
baby, don't you? ♪
Got that good-good,
baby, don't you? ♪
That was on purpose, right?
The café?
Yes. And thank God.
You know, just
Let me, let me explain
Forget it's me saying this.
Just think for a moment.
You're crazy to be doing
what you're doing.
I can't help it.
What does that mean?
You know what it means.
[sighs]
I'll tell you what it means,
and I'll tell you
what you're mistaking it for.
You think you're in love
with this girl.
You're not.
You're fascinated by her.
You're pulled towards her
because you killed her brother.
You sound like a teacher.
[exhales]
I love you.
It's wrong,
it's a terrible mistake.
I wish I didn't feel this way,
but I do.
You're jealous.
You want it to be that easy.
Easy?
You want me to be
the bad teacher
turned into the jealous woman.
It's not it.
I am begging you
to take responsibility
for yourself, Adam.
For both your sakes,
you and Fia Baxter
have to stop seeing each other.
Or what? Y-You'd tell her?
[Zander] Rehearsing and coaching
are not the same thing,
which means I can tell you
how to say things
but not what to say.
- Understood?
- Sure.
So, when Kofi Jones
walked into your cell,
what would be the one word to
describe how you were feeling?
Okay, if it were me,
how about terrified?
Yeah, I-I don't know
about terrified.
Here's the law. Here's the deal
with self-defense:
I'm gonna put it
in your language, Carlo.
You have to believe
that you are in immediate danger
of being killed
or very seriously hurt
and that deadly force
is needed to prevent it.
Yeah. That.
But notice how you didn't use
the word "terrified."
Okay.
Okay.
How did your brother die?
He died in a car crash.
- The car was driven by who?
- Kofi Jones.
And did Kofi Jones
leave your little brother
all alone,
bleeding to death
on the side of the road
with no one to hold his hand
or hear his last words?
Yeah.
Speak it back to me,
with feeling.
You just said it.
How did it make you feel, Carlo?
- Mad.
- No.
What the fuck
am I supposed to say?
- It rhymes with mad.
- Bad?
- Oh, Jesus.
- Fucking sad.
I'm so sorry for your loss.
Sure.
Okay.
Here's my question, Carlo.
Here's-here's the question.
When the man who killed
your little brother
walked into your cell and
you saw him standing there
what was the first thought
that came into your head?
Kill the motherfucker.
[sighs]
[music playing over TV]
Say, I ain't trying to get
all sappy or nothing like that,
but I just want
to thank you, you know?
For-for bringing me in
and letting me stay.
Of course, man.
I knew you was good people.
I mean, shit, look at you now.
Making financial propositions
to the mama herself.
[laughs]
I knew you had weight on you.
[exhales]
You know, Rudy,
he was worried as all fuck
when you were joining in
and moving in,
especially after
what went down with Kofi.
But I told him
that you smart
and that you loyal.
Who Rudy?
dark, somber music ♪
Oh, you ain't need to learn
all our secrets
in one day, old boy.
[sniffles]
dark, atmospheric music ♪
Come, sit.
Doubts, I hear.
You haven't spoken to me
about these doubts,
but you have spoken about them.
Why can't you believe I am capable
of forming my own opinions?
Uh, there's no new relationship?
Nobody's feeding you
these thoughts
at this difficult time?
His name is Adam.
Because of what happened,
you are vulnerable, Fia.
You can be exploited.
- What are you saying?
- He appears as one thing.
My Okay,
my boyfriend is the devil?
Is that Mom, is this you?
[Patrick]
All right, my child.
- Here's what we'll do.
- What are you
What are you talking about?
"Here's what we'll do"?
This is none of your business.
- Fia.
- Sofia.
- Fia. Hey.
- Fuck him. Fuck him.
Who do they think they are?
In confirmation class yesterday,
you know what he said?
"God spake unto Abraham,
'Kill him with a knife.
Your own son.
Your child, a sacrifice to me.
Build a bonfire
to put your dead son on,
and ask him to help you collect
the wood first,
lie to him
about what you're doing. ""
And then,
"And now that you've proved,
by agreeing to murder
your child,
that there is, there is no one,
no one you love more than me,
you don't actually have
to do it."
I mean, what kind of a fucking
deranged despot is that?
- Sweetheart
- This is not you.
It is me. It's all me.
Do you love him?
No. I hate him.
Your mother meant Adam, Fia,
not God.
Would you do it, Dad?
If God asked you to?
[exhales] Mom?
Would you kill me
if God asked you to do it?
Do you love him?
Yes. Yes, I love him.
Wha I know when my godson
is holding something back.
Yeah, I might have
gotten myself into something
that's kind of messy.
The girlfriend?
- There's another thing.
- What?
- There are two.
- Girlfriends? [chuckles]
Uh
One of them is my teacher.
Oh.
Whoa.
So let me guess.
You like the other one.
"Like" isn't the right word.
Okay.
And Mrs. Robinson is upset.
Okay. Yeah.
I got this.
No, I
Hmm?
I got myself into this.
I should get myself out of it.
- Well, that sounds
- It's what it is.
I got it.
Sure.
[indistinct chatter]
[sighs]
If you're here to try to get me
to go see that motherfucker
lie under oath,
I'd rather be making money.
What's this?
Results from Kofi's GED exam.
- Says he failed.
- He did.
Look at the date though,
look at the time.
Kofi was busy failing
his GED exam
the same time
that Rocco Baxter was killed.
Which means Kofi covered
for someone.
Desire asked him
to take the fall.
So it has to be someone
in the crew who killed Rocco.
The people you call family now?
They're the ones
who let the Baxters
think that Kofi was responsible
for killing Rocco.
They put the "X" on his back and
then they turned the other way.
I know they took you in.
I know you think you owe them
something for that.
But has it ever occurred to you
that maybe the reason
they're keeping you so close
is because they sold your
brother down the Mississippi?
Where was Little Mo that day?
That would explain
Rudy.
Rudy?
Who's-who's Rudy?
He's in Desire?
You think he was driving?
I don't know who he is, but
Little Mo said that he was
worried that I was joining
after what had went down
with Kofi.
What else did he say?
What exactly, Eugene?
- Word for word.
- I don't remember.
I mean, we was drinking
and stuff and I don't remember.
Wh-What did he say?
It's important.
He said he was worried,
like I told you.
But Little Mo told him
not to trip, 'cause
I'm smarter than Kofi.
And I'm more loyal.
"More loyal"?
That's so warped.
So I can look into this Rudy?
- [indistinct chatter]
- [moody pop music playing]
You're a teacher?
Yeah, high school photography.
So a real vocation?
On good days, yes. I love it.
On lesser ones it can feel
more like babysitting.
[chuckles]
Charlie Figaro.
Are you, uh, looking for my vote
or are you hitting on me?
It's a little difficult to tell.
[chuckles softly]
I'd have thought you'd be
kind of expert on reading
what is and isn't appropriate,
Miss Latimer.
You being a teacher
and everything.
- How did you know my
- No, no, see,
[chuckles]
I'm doing the talking now.
I want you to listen
more carefully
than you have ever listened
to anything in your life.
This can only end badly for you.
This comes out, uh
you go to jail.
You become
a registered sex offender
and everything that
that brings with it.
And your vocation?
This thing you love?
Dead forever.
But none of this
needs happen.
If you stop now.
Do the right thing,
Miss Latimer.
You feel me?
What about Adam?
I got him.
You ain't got
to worry about that.
- He told you?
- Yeah.
Was it hard for him?
Now, now, see?
I don't think
you heard me right.
Now you need to stop it.
Step off.
I got him. He'll be fine.
I don't know.
I know my godson.
He's 17 years old.
Exactly.
It's not easy to watch
somebody die in the gutter
and have to live with the guilt
of knowing you did it.
And when you're sensitive
and sweet and 17
Wait, wait, wait, wait.
Adam?
Ten minutes. And you owe me.
I promise wherever I land,
I will take you with me.
slow, suspenseful music ♪
[Freya]
Earl Grey still?
You're not my assistant
anymore, Freya.
Mostly I'm just curious about
what the hell you're doing.
Found a cop who's arrested
a dealer many times,
and yet none of those
arrests have led to charges.
What does that tell you?
Either the dealer's an informant
or the cop's dirty.
Or both.
How much?
Hmm?
- Hmm?
- How much do you love him?
With all my heart.
I'd like to meet him.
Okay.
Great. Uh, when?
Now?
Now would be good.
[chimes]
- [phone beeps]
- [door opens]
[exhales]
Hey.
[Adam] Hey, uh,
I was just about to head out.
Oh, yeah? Where you headed?
[chuckles softly]
Oh, okay. [laughs]
Girlfriend?
Yeah.
Well, have a good time.
You gonna be gone long?
Uh, I don't know.
Okay, well,
I'll wait up for you.
gentle piano music ♪